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August 2010 | ||
| Your Views on how we run the Council |
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For more information about the two options and how the current
system works visit the 'Your views
on how we run the Council' webpage. This is likely to be a short term arrangement as the new
Coalition Government has advised that it may make further changes
which would come into effect in 2012. This could give more
discretion to councils on how they make decisions, including an
option to return to the traditional committee decision making
system. However, the Government has said that, as the 2007 Act is
still in force, it is still necessary to consult on the new options
for running the Council |
The Local
Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 requires us to
change some of the ways we run the Council, and we would like your
views on the best option to choose. | LDF Update |
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At its meeting on 22 July Winchester
City Council’s LDF Cabinet Committee LDF Committee Report CAB
2040(LDF) agreed to maintain progress on its Core Strategy, despite
the revocation of the South East Plan, through further community and
stakeholder consultation during the remainder of this year.
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| Broadband Survey for the Winchester District |
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A short survey has been made available for Winchester District residents and businesses. It will help to measure the level of demand for better broadband. The survey asks for details of current internet speeds, and seeks views on what you would pay for faster access to the World Wide Web. The results will be mapped, and overlaid onto an existing map of not-spots - a term to describe areas with very poor broadband access. This will identify the areas which require higher speed broadband access. The evidence that is gathered will be used to lobby internet service providers, and those providing internet infrastructure, to provide a better service to Winchester. You can access the survey at http://www.ehampshire.org/winchester/c-339 which also has a tool to measure your current broadband speed. In addition, you can email more general comments to Kate Cloud, Economic Development Manager, at ecdev@winchester.gov.uk or telephone 01962 848 563. |
Winchester City Council and the
eHampshire Partnership are seeking views on broadband internet
access across the District.| Improvements to how we handle calls |
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That means that as we head into September the number of phone calls made to the customer service centre increase dramatically, unfortunately the number of people we have to answer the calls doesn’t change meaning that customers will have to wait longer for their calls to be answered. This year we want to improve the service by streamlining the telephone system to help us to direct customer calls quickly to the right area. Early in September we will be introducing a short
menu system so that when you call 01962 840 222 you will be offered
three choices, the final wording is still being developed but your
call will be answered with a recorded message and the choices below:
Thank you for calling Winchester City Council, calls may be
recorded for quality & training purposes, please listen
carefully to the following choices: Why are we doing this? We know that customers don’t like telephone menu systems, we’ve all tried calling BT, the bank or Sky and got lost and frustrated in the process, which is why we have designed this one to be a simple as possible, two choices or stay on the line to go through to customer service. The change is to make sure customers that know who they want to speak to are transferred to that person quickly while those that contact us for a service supplied by the County Council can be transferred directly to Hantsdirect all of which frees up our customer service team to deal with our own calls which will reduce waiting time. Sam, our new voice of Winchester has already re-recorded the queuing messages which advise you approximately how long it will take us to answer your calls so that they a bit more friendly and don’t worry, we’ve avoided all those really irritating phrases like “your call is important to us…” Other ways to reduce the waiting time include avoiding calling first thing in the morning or between 12.00 and 2.00pm, these are peak times and unfortunately no matter what we do there are always queues, instead of telephoning you could email us direct with your enquiry at customerservices@winchester.gov.uk |
As
the summer holidays draw to a close and the children get ready to go
back to school our customers take the opportunity to call us about
all of those enquiries that were put off through the
summer.| Winchester Declaration on Climate Change |
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During 2010 major organisations in the Winchester District have pledged to reduce their carbon footprints in a pioneering local declaration on climate change. Winchester District Strategic Partnership (WDSP) has been working with Winchester Action on Climate Change (WinACC) on 20:12, the campaign to cut the carbon footprint of Winchester by 20% by the end of 2012.
For more information about climate change, how you
can make changes, or to pledge to reduce your emissions go to
www.winacc.org.uk/2012-winchester-declaration-climate-change |
The
Winchester Declaration on Climate Change gives organisations of all
types, including businesses, charities and the public sector, the
opportunity to pledge to reduce their carbon emissions by 20%
between 2009 and 2012. Organisations agreeing to
sign up publish a plan for reducing their carbon footprints by
20% by 2012, sign up to at least one low carbon campaign, and
support their staff in reducing their own personal carbon
footprints.| Census Jobs Available |
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The 2011 Census is fast approaching and on behalf of the Office
for National Statistics (ONS), Capita is starting to recruit for
part-time Community Advisors to help it run smoothly. |
| Volunteer Greeter Scheme |
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Winchester City Council is introducing an
American-style ‘greeters’ scheme to give a personal welcome to
Winchester’s visitors. ‘Visit Winchester’ volunteer greeters
will act as ambassadors, sharing their passion for the city and
introducing them to ‘their Winchester’. |
| Get Ready for English Language Day |
Wednesday 13 October 2010 will see the English Project making
English Language Day the high point of a ten-day programme that
begins on Thursday 7 October, National Poetry Day and ends on Sunday
17 October. |
| Gearing up for Christmas! |
In 2010 Winchester is claiming to be England’s Christmas capital. More events than ever before, including a free children’s reindeer run linking the historic high street’s toy shops and the world class Christmas market and ice rink will make the city centre a ‘must see’ this year. Visit the Christmas in Winchester website for a constantly updated list of events. And if you’re finding it a challenge to use ordinary bus services try contacting dial-a-ride |
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